Calfo Style Overflow boxes

[BeanAnimal]

Note that getting this overflow level is the key part. The top edge needs to be where you want your water line. If it is not pefectly level, then water will flow over it deeper at one end. In your case Benny... 1000Gph over 80".... if it is not level, one end will be dry!

The best way to do this is to place the tank on its stand with a substantial amount of water or weight in it. Then set your overflow into place using clamps and jigsr to get it perfectly level.

A note on levels: Most (all) levels made by Stanley (even the FAT MAX) and other comapnies ARE PURE GARBAGE. It does not matter what the tolerance specs on it are or what spaceage material it is made out of... they are never even close! Buy a 4' or 6' JOHNSON wooden level with brass trim. The one with the curved bulbs in it. These are dead balls on every time. It is the best $35 you can spend. The product is hand and hand checked.

Take it from somebody who has owned dozens of levels and is obsessive about them being accurate.... the JOHNSON LEVEL companies wooden and brass level is the best thing going in the sub $200 price range.

Bean

 

[Benny Z]

i liked someone else's suggestion of filling the tank with water, marking the top on both sides, and then using the marks to measure and cut the overflow.

i should have the stand completed this week, so hopefully i'll be able to get some weight in it to see how far off we are. hopefully it won't be bad.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Using the water as a level will work pefectly well.

 

[areze]

depending what surface your on, if its not concrete that may settle; so you may end up with a slant even if it starts out balls on accurate.

another factor that might be partially helped by leveling with water so the weight is there to try and get a final resting position.

 

[Bemmer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6268856#post6268856 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BeanAnimal
If it is a glass tank, I would use a glass overflow....

Besides the price difference between glass and acrylic for the overflow, why should I use a glass overflow with a glass tank? I am planning on using an acrylic overflow with my glass tank because it is lighter in weight. Can someone tell me why I should rethink this and go with glass? Thanks.

 

[Ereefic]

Bemmer, I would think the reason is that glass bonds better to glass than acrylic does to glass.

 

[areze]

yup no great way to bond acylic to glass, and since bond integrity is very very important here(unlike say, a sump baffle); you got to be careful.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Yup.... glass to glass, acrylic to acrylic. Doing otherwise is asking for a flood.

There is just no safe and easy way to bond the acrylic to the glass. Even expensive epoxy products are at best mediocre when it comes bonding acrylic to glass.

 

[tabndust]

tagging

 

[Bemmer]

Hey guys,
Thanks for the heads up. I did not know that there was an issue with the adhesion between acrylic and glass. You guys saved me from a big mistake.

 

[Ereefic]

I know people have done it without problems, but why risk it.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Indian Larry (of Jesse James fame) used to ride for miles on end standing on his seat....

He died doing it.

Bean

 

[areze]

Ive done some projects before I knew any better with silicone on lexan. a theoretical no-no Ive since found out.

Ive since "tested the strength"(read as:tried to destroy) the overflow box just to see how strong it was. and simply put it varied. some parts came apart with little to no force seperating at the surface, others I could only force apart by tearing the silicone.

it was probably more tearing than seperating to be honest and it was an overall pretty strong bond. but thats not something Id risk personally.

 

[Jeremy Blaze]

My overflows are acrylic, and I used regular tank silicone to glue them into my glass tank. No problems. I have done this on 3 tanks without a problem yet.

 

[areze]

whatever gets the job done

but if you do it again Id do glass. its just so easy. I went to ace hardware and walked out with the peices precut for like 2$. cant beat that!

 

[BeanAnimal]

Jeremy....

What can I say but your playing with fire. Silicone does not stick to acrylic. You simply relying on friction more than anything. It's not a point to argue, that is the simple reality of the situation.

You could use aluminum tape to hold the box in place and vaseline to create the seal with equal success. That does not mean that it is the safest, best or even a suitable way of sticking your overflow to your tank.

Bean

 

[mc-cro]

What about every commercial overflow I've ever seen.. they all use plastic or acrylic siliconed to the glass? whats the trick to those?

 

[Ereefic]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6280357#post6280357 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mc-cro
What about every commercial overflow I've ever seen.. they all use plastic or acrylic siliconed to the glass? whats the trick to those?

Water Pressure?

 

[Bemmer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6269467#post6269467 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BeanAnimal
Benny... smoked or black should not be hard to come by. Most local sign shops will have it. It does not have to be thick, as the water depthwill only be a few inches. You may want to incorperate 2 or3 1" wide braces along the length. I would black these BELOW the lip, at the proposed water level (or below). This will keep them submerged and prevent water from spilling over them and drippin into the overlfow box.

BeanAnimal,
Can you explain this another way? I am having trouble understanding where the braces are located. Thanks.

Rebecca

 

[Jeremy Blaze]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6280357#post6280357 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mc-cro
What about every commercial overflow I've ever seen.. they all use plastic or acrylic siliconed to the glass? whats the trick to those?

Exactly. AllGlass, Oceanic, etc... All are plastic, silicones to glass. I don't know what you guys are doing, but I have been working with acrylic for about 6 years now, and silicone holds them in the tanks very well. I had a hard time removing the only one i have tried.